Ratliff murder investigation is active, GBI says

CARNESVILLE, Ga. - Authorities say that while they are staying tight-lipped about the investigation into the death of Keith Ratliff of Carnesville, they nonetheless are working on the case.

"While we have not reported anything on this investigation in some time now, it does not mean that the case is not being actively worked," said Georgia Bureau of Investigation Agent in Charge Mike Ayers. "It is the policy of the GBI that homicide investigations remain open and active until they are solved. We as an agency do not abandon these cases for any reason. I can assure you that this investigation is important to each agency involved in it, and it is actively being addressed. The desire to maintain a high degree of confidentiality in this case has a purpose that I simply cannot address at this time."

Sources who wished to remain anonymous but are familiar with the investigation said it has gone global.

Ratliff, who was 32 and from Kentucky, was found at his business, the same place where he lived, on Hayes Road in Carnesville on Jan. 3. He was co-owner of FPS Industries. He was discovered in an office by friends who notified the sheriff's office.

Franklin County Sheriff Stevie Thomas said Ratliff was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy by the GBI crime lab in Atlanta determined Ratliff died as the result of a single gunshot wound to the head.

Ayers said numerous firearms were found at the residence, but not the weapon used to kill Ratliff.

FPS Industries and FPSRussia are firearm-related businesses. FPS Industries is concerned with the development and production of firearms and related items. FPSRussia is a production that appears on YouTube, not on a regular schedule, that says it has nearly 4 million subscribers and more than 516 million viewers worldwide.